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Q&A with Blues Saraceno 7/29/10

Since he was discovered at the tender age of 16, Blues Saraceno has defined himself both as hard-driving technical shredder and as a musical chameleon who can write and produce in a myriad of musical genres.

Guitar for the Practicing Musician magazine first took notice of Blues after his brief stint with Michael Bolton and Cher. In 1989, the magazine’s sister label, Guitar Recordings, released Blues’ first album, Never Look Back. From that point on, Blues never looked back. At 17, he became “the kid that replaced Clapton” in the reunion of Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker. After that, he released a couple more solo albums and then joined Poison.

Shortly after departing Poison, Blues was recruited by Fox Television to perform on a series of soundtracks and songs for several television shows and films. In 2000, Blues founded Transmission OK. After a short time with the band, he returned to film and television as well as session work.

Blues’ session work has ranged from Ziggy Marley (Dragonfly) to Melissa Etheridge (Lucky) and he has earned a reputation for being a "go-to guy" for many of Los Angeles' top record producers and engineers. Much of his recent success has come in the field of television and film. Blues' television work credits include CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, Disney, Discovery, UPN, MTV, MTV 2, VH1, USA, TLC, Comedy Central, Telemundo, SCI FI, SPIKE, E! and BRAVO.

As you can imagine, Blues is a highly in-demand artist with little idle time. However, we were lucky to get him to spend an hour with today. Let's make him feel at home. Ladies and gentlemen, please give a warm welcome to Blues Saraceno!

Re: LIVE NOW - Q&A with Blues Saraceno 7/29/10

Hey Blues:

Here's a couple of questions from a member who couldn't make it today:

Originally Posted by new___blood

It's been 17 years since you were touring with the band Poison in South America.
a) Do you have any memories the tour that you want to tell us?
b) Next year, Poison will be celebrating their 25th Anniversary and they are planning to do a world tour. If they will ask you to join them to play stuff from "Crack a Smile" album, will you join them?

Re: LIVE NOW - Q&A with Blues Saraceno 7/29/10

I pretty much remember it all very well. They were all great memories. Playing in front of hundreds of thousands of people is something you never forget. For part 2, my current schedule with television work really doesn't allow me to take off the time to tour.

Re: LIVE NOW - Q&A with Blues Saraceno 7/29/10

Originally Posted by jeremy

how do you like doing tv and soundtrack work compared to albums? artistic freedom come into play at all?

To be honest, I really enjoy it. Artistic freedom definitely comes into play but there are definite guildelines you have to work within. Sometimes by limiting your options, it allows you work a little clearer.

Re: LIVE NOW - Q&A with Blues Saraceno 7/29/10

Hi Blues,
What is your favorite guitar right now and what kinds of pickups do you have in it? On a side note, I was always jealous of you because we are about the same age and you had already made a name for yourself as a teenager. How much was practice and how much was talent?

Re: LIVE NOW - Q&A with Blues Saraceno 7/29/10

Originally Posted by wjombat

Hi Blues,
What is your favorite guitar right now and what kinds of pickups do you have in it? On a side note, I was always jealous of you because we are about the same age and you had already made a name for yourself as a teenager. How much was practice and how much was talent?

Colby

My current favorite guitar is the Ernie Ball Music Man Reflex. I just did a video for them that's on the Ernie Ball website. It has to be noted that with any Ernie Ball guitar, the first thing I do is tear out the stock pickups and put in Seymour Duncans. I always tend to favor pickups that are close to PAFs. My current favorite are Pearly Gates.

As to your other question, I would say it was 25% talent, 25% practice, 25% opportunity and 25% pesistence. As a side note, my career has always been about making the best out of whatever shows up.

P.S. Your playing is just absolutely fun to listen to --- you're one of the only players in the world where I know whatever I listen to will be FUN. So thanks!

-Hunter

I absolutely can get the tones out of a clean amp and stompboxes. That's how my dad started building pedals. I got tired of dragging multiple boutique amps to sessions and I started bringing one amp and a bunch of his different stompboxes depending on what music I had to play that day.

In the studio, there's definitely a substitute to a mean amp turned up to 11. Live, not as much.

The people who have followed my career from the beginning, I take their comments to heart. So I really appreciate when people like you "get it."

Re: LIVE NOW - Q&A with Blues Saraceno 7/29/10

Originally Posted by JohnJohn

You've long been recognized as a great player and solo artist - did playing with a band known for so many radio hits affect how you approached writing on your own?

Definitely! It's almost like "different horses for different courses." You can't deny that one of the reasons I took that job is that I wanted to see music from a fan-based view. It helped me expand my approach.

Re: LIVE NOW - Q&A with Blues Saraceno 7/29/10

Originally Posted by wjombat

What is it about PAF sounding pickups do you like?

It's simple. The reason I tend to go towards a PAF is they sound the most natural and the least false. If you have a good guitar sound and it sounds good clean, I let the amps do the work. Because I use the volume pot and let the amps do the work, it's important for me to start with a good clean sound.

Originally Posted by wjombat

What would you like to do with your career that you have not yet accomplished?

Date Miley Cyrus! No, not really.

I'd like to get my career to the point where I can pick and choose all the artists and talent I work with. There are a lot of artists out there that I could learn from.